With Mick away, Criville's eyeing the prize

The world 500cc motorcycle championship will move to the fast, undulating and daunting Imola circuit in Italy on Sunday, with Spain's Alex Criville well set for the title.

With Mick away, Criville's eyeing the prize

02 September 1999Bob Jennings

The world 500cc motorcycle championship will move to the fast, undulating and daunting Imola circuit in Italy on Sunday, with Spain's Alex Criville well set for the title.

Criville, on his Repsol Honda has a commanding lead in the series with 194 points, 51 clear (that's virtually two race wins) of Suzuki rider Kenny Roberts Jnr, while brilliant Brno winner Tadayuki Okada is third on 138.

Criville's team-mate Okada put in a brilliant final lap at Brno to clinch the race, whipping the victory away from the Spaniard.

Roberts managed to climb the podium after slipping past Yamaha hope Max Biaggi in the last few hundred metres, demonstrating the closeness of the competition at this stage.

But reports from Imola suggest that maybe Biaggi will be favourite this weekend. Yamaha has been buoyed by the Italian's strong effort at Brno, where he led for a number of laps, and by developments which have been made to his motorcycle to make it more stable under brakes.

Last year Jean-Michel Bayle put his Yamaha on pole at Imola, further boosting the team's confidence.

But it's hard to look past the Honda pairing of Okada and Criville, the pair seemingly having developed winning confidence during the absence of Michael Doohan.

Highly favored in the 250cc class in Valentino Rossi, who has a commanding lead of 190 points from Tohru Ukawa with 163. The 20-year-old Aprilia rider has won there in each of the past two years.

In the 125cc class Tomomi Manako won last year but he's moved to the 250cc class. The series is being led by Masao Azuma with 161 points from Emilio Alzamora on 157.